Talking Business Now

Sam Schutte, a software developer, was out of work and studying for his MBA; he and his wife were expecting a baby; and they had their house up for sale. Oh, and it was also 2008.

What’s the logical thing to add to that mix?

Launching a new company.

But Schutte saw an opportunity. He had started to question the standard approach to software development that resulted in scope creep, projects being over budget, missed deadlines and “solutions” to business problems that didn’t solve anything. He was tired of hearing clients being told, “no, it’s not possible.” He wanted to be in the business of saying “yes” to developing innovative solutions for business challenges.

Schutte started Unstoppable Software to provide clients with ready-to-go software development “factory” that brought the people, processes, tools and resources to the partnership.

Listen in as Schutte joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to share:

• His journey to becoming an entrepreneur.
• His approach and philosophy to serving clients and solving problems—and how it evolved.
• Technology innovations many business owners don’t have on their radar but should—because they are having an impact anyway.
• Why technology makes it possible for a company in a different industry to become your competitor.

RESOURCES

Episode Transcript

Sam Schutte’s Unstoppable Talk Podcast

CONNECT WITH SAM SCHUTTE

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unstoppablesoftware
• Twitter: @UnstoppableSoft
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/unstoppable-software-inc./

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Elyse Dickerson, co-founder and CEO of biotech company Eosera, which develops ear care products, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss entrepreneurship, lessons learned and women in bioscience.

Tune in as Dickerson shares her experiences on:

• Listening to the market before launching a product.
• Being “the only woman in the room” and how being a CEO now gives her a platform for opening doors for other aspiring women.
• The importance of developing a strong relationship with investors—and tips for doing that.
• Working with major retailers, including understanding your cash flow and when to recognize a deal you should say “no” to.
• Why it’s important to stay true to your product niche as your company expands.
• Making a personal and company commitment to practice conscious capitalism.

ABOUT ELYSE DICKERSON

Elyse Dickerson has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Before founding Eosera, she managed portfolios with annual revenues of $1.7 billion and drove product innovation and the commercialization of numerous technologies.

As a female CEO in the biotech industry, Dickerson uses her position to empower other women in the industry and is recognized as a champion for women’s equality in the workforce. In 2019, Drug Store News named her the Top Women in Health, Wellness, and Beauty. D CEO honored her on the 2019 Dallas 500 list and named her Most Admired CEO. The Fort Worth Business Press recognized her among the Great Women of Texas. Fort Worth Magazine named Dickerson a Fort Worthian to Watch, and FW Inc named her to its list of Top 400 Most Influential People.

CONNECT WITH ELYSE DICKERSON

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarwaxMD
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EoseraInc
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/eosera-inc./

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Rosabeth Moss Kanter joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to talk about her latest book “Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time” and how experienced leaders and aspiring entrepreneurs can apply their knowledge to some of the world’s most pressing social, economic and environmental problems.

Professor Kanter is one of the foremost names in leadership and business. The former chief editor of Harvard Business Review, Kanter has authored or co-authored 20 books. She holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation and leadership for change. She works with leaders around the world through her teaching, writing and speaking. She is also a consultant to major corporations, governments and start-up ventures.

More than 10 years ago, Kanter co-founded Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, which became an international model for a new stage of higher education that works with successful top leaders to apply their skills to national and global challenges.

Tune in to discover:

1. What it means to “think outside the building”—and why it’s so powerful for overcoming establishment paralysis and producing significant innovation for a better world.
2. How to identify the right allies, lead through persuasion, and influence without authority.
3. Why it’s important to tell inspiring stories.
4. How to tune into and awaken your purpose and passion for social change.
5. Techniques for noticing gaps that can be filled by new approaches.

Resources

• “Think Outside the Building: How Advanced Leaders Can Change the World One Smart Innovation at a Time” is available for purchase through Amazon and other outlets.
• Read the full transcript of this episode.

Connect with Rosabeth Moss Kanter

• Facebook: Rosabeth Moss Kanter
• Twitter: @RosabethKanter

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Gino Wickman joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to talk about his latest book “Entrepreneurial Leap: Do You Have What It Takes to Become an Entrepreneur?” and how entrepreneurs can realize their purpose and live the life they were born to live.

At the age of 25, Wickman took over the family business. Seven years later, after turning the company around, he successfully sold it. An award-winning author and speaker, Wickman has delivered more than 1,800 full-day sessions for more than 130 companies.

He is also the author of the award-winning, best-selling book “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business” as well as “Get a Grip,” “Rocket Fuel,” “How to Be a Great Boss” and “What the Heck is EOS?” Wickman now spends his time and energy helping prospective entrepreneurs get a huge leap on their entrepreneurial journey.

Tune in to discover:

1. How Wickman came to realize during his early entrepreneurial ventures that he was “born” to be an entrepreneur.
2. Why Wickman is convinced that “nature” wins the nature vs. nurture argument of entrpreneurship.
3. The six key traits would-be entrepreneurs must possess to be successful: Visionary, Passion, Problem Solver, Drive, Risk-Taker and Responsible.
4. What entrepreneurs can do to increase their odds of success.
5. Tips for starting a business in the midst of a crisis such as a recession or pandemic.

Resources

• “Entrepreneurial Leap: Do You Have What It Takes to Become an Entrepreneur?” is available for purchase through Amazon, all major retailers and many local bookstores.
• Visit e-leap.com to take the free Entrepreneur-in-the-Making Assessment.
• Get a sneak peek! Download a free chapter of “Entrepreneurial Leap.”
• Read the full transcript of this episode.

Connect with Gino Wickman

• Twitter: @readLeap
• Facebook: readLeap
• Linkedin: readLeap

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Laura Laiben, founder and CEO of The Culinary Center of Kansas City, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon, to discuss doing business during the coronavirus pandemic.

Laura, like all of us, is trying to cope with the extraordinary challenges that each new day brings. But the particular reason I asked Laura to join me is that although the coronavirus is a challenge on a scale none of us has dealt with before, she has experienced long-term business interruption due to a fire as well as a serious health crisis. Laura is drawing on the lessons she learned in both situations to provide guidance for analyzing and dealing with our current crisis.

Tune in to find out why it’s important to:

• For the moment, at least, to let anger about the situation go and not second-guess the decisions you’ve made.
• Find your inner cowboy/cowgirl—and ride!
• Assess honestly where your business is—financially and in other key areas—and why you’ll need to do this every day during the crisis.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate with transparency with employees and customers.
• Get creative about how to generate cash—now!
• Continue to embrace community—even if it’s from a distance.

CONNECT WITH LAURA LAIBEN

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-laiben-90893912/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kcculinary/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kcculinary

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Dave Farrow, the two-time Guinness World Record Holder for Greatest Memory, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss how to achieve better sales and marketing results by using memory techniques.

Tune in to learn:

• How Dave developed the “Farrow Memory Method” to deal with his own dyslexia, how he used it to set two Guinness World Records for Greatest Memory, and how he teaches his clients at Farrow Communications to use it in business to improve sales and marketing results.
• Memory techniques you can use in your advertising to connect with potential customers and make your ads more memorable.
• Memory tips you can use with your sales teams to remember customer names, product details and other important information that can make or break a sale.

CONNECT WITH DAVE FARROW

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farrowmemory/

https://www.facebook.com/farrowcomms/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/FarrowComms

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davefarrowmemory/

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Serial entrepreneur Carl Gould, the founder of 7 Stage Advisors and the 7 Stage Growth Academy, joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to share five key business lessons he’s learned on his entrepreneurial journey.

By the age of 40, Gould had built three multimillion dollar companies. He started his first—a landscaping business—while he was still in college and working at UPS. His next business was a construction company. Along the way, he’s learned a lot about himself, about entrepreneurship and about business in general. In fact, he’s written nine books on those topics.

Gould has helped mentor the launch of more than 5,000 companies, and his methodologies are used in 35 countries.

Tune in to discover what Gould has to say about these six areas that mean the difference between a company’s success or failure:

1. Do’s and don’ts for setting your pricing strategy
2. Why passion for your business isn’t always necessary for success
3. Understanding when it’s time to relinquish control of some parts of your business
4. Knowing how to use your competitors for leverage
5. How to survive the “winter” of your business
6. Why it’s important to “keep your foot on the gas” when it comes to your marketing efforts

CONNECT WITH CARL GOULD

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecarlgould

Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlgould

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Inspired by her mother Lillian and drawing on her experiences as a company founder and journalist, Jan Sokoloff Harness, has written a new book “Look Up: Your Unexpected Guide to Good.” Her central message is that if we’d only take the time to “look up,” we’ll find good that’s right in front of us.

Harness embraces the broad meaning of “look up.” Tune in to this episode of Talking Business Now to be reminded of often overlooked ways to “look up” in business—and life, in general—to discover the good when you do so.

• The time management lesson Harness learned from a meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
• The importance of being fully present.
• The types of good you can discover when you really focus on listening.
• How looking up can help us return to the too-often lost basics of communication.
• Why the physical act of looking up can spark new ideas
• The question that prompted Harness to “look up” and start her own company 12 years ago—and that she encourages you to ask many times in your own life.
• Why “looking up” creates more cohesive and productive teams.
• “Looking up” tools, tips and techniques for jumpstarting your creativity and rekindling your passion.

Harness is the founder of Sokoloff Harness Communications, an international agency she launched in Kansas City in 2002. Jan is an award-winning writer, poet and communications coach whose career has run the gamut from agency creative director to radio news director to working with clients of Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits.

CONNECT WITH JAN SOKOLOFF HARNESS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MayYouLookUp/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SokoloffHarness  @SokoloffHarness

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-sokoloff-harness/

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Bill George has seen a lot of change during his many decades in the ground transportation industry—he’s owned cab companies since 1984. But his journey started even earlier than that, when he grew up working in his dad’s Chrysler dealership. Now, George is the one driving the change.

The CEO of Kansas City Transportation Group and owner of WHC Worldwide, George joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to discuss how he’s capitalized on shifting consumer expectations and introduced a disruptive new model to the on-demand transportation sector—and ridden it to success.

“Our mission is to use mobility to enhance the lives of our customers, driver partners and employees,” George says.

Listen in to discover how he:

• Honed his skills working with his father—and how the father-son duo managed to maintain a strong relationship despite some “knock-down dragout fights.”
• Applied the lessons he learned after selling two businesses—and then buying one of them back.
• Observed a gap in the cab business—and introduced a solution that exploded company growth.
• Capitalized on the disruption created by Uber and others in the on-demand transportation industry.
• Created zTrip to combine the best taxi service model with the best technology to introduce a new hybrid brand of on-demand transportation. 

George also offers practical advice on expanding market share, carving out a niche, defining customers, and working with family—including the thunder, wonder and blunder theory of multi-generational family businesses.

As the CEO of KCTG, George sets the strategic direction of the country’s largest private passenger ground transportation company. KCTG has grown to include several well-known industry brands and operates in multiple U.S. cities and through affiliates around the world.

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What do you do when you’ve spent your entire career in one industry, and then in an instant, it’s over?

Such was the case for Scott Ringlein. In 2008, he was a chief engineer for a Fortune 500 auto supplier and was responsible for global product development and launches. In addition to the U.S., he had staff in Europe, Asia and South America.

But one Monday morning in June when he arrived at work, Ringlein and thousand of others were told it would be their last day. The Million Mile Flyer was jolted to Earth by the news. He did not have a chance to clean out his office or say goodbye to employees.

Instead, the single father of two children, ages 13 and 8, who had two mortgages, was suddenly without a car, computer, phone or job.

Ringlein joins Talking Business Now host Kelly Scanlon to explain how the end of his career in the automotive industry was actually the beginning of the greatest experiences he’s had, including founding five different companies.

Ringlein, who was raised as a farmer and educated as an engineer, founded his most recent company, The Energy Alliance Group of North America, in 2011. EAG develops and deploys solutions to global energy, waste and environmental challenges, including helping businesses find innovative financing solutions so they can implement energy efficiency upgrades. Ringlein is also a technical advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy and conducts technical reviews of applications for technology innovation and commercialization.

Listen in as Ringlein talks about how he’s grown his business and shares the lessons he’s learned from his experiences as a serial entrepreneur, including:

• The power of networking.
• The importance of having a mentor
• Why you must accept the fact you can’t do everything if you wish to be truly successful
• Being ready to change your business plan.
• The importance of developing and documenting processes in order to scale—and learning how to adapt them on the fly as your business grows.
• Why collaborating with competitors is a better strategy than competing directly with them.
• Diversifying income streams.
• Don’t give up!
• Taking pride in doing good while doing well.

CONNECT WITH SCOTT RINGLEIN

Twitter: @NRGAllianceGrp

LinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-energy-alliance-group-of-michigan

LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-energy-alliance-group-of-michigan

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